.345/.402/.638/1.040; .442 wOBA; 191 wRC+; .293 ISO; unexpectedly solid defense at an extremely important defensive position (shortstop) where offense is secondary; and ~5.3 WAR. In any other season, we’d be taking about the likely MVP and certain Silver Slugger winner.

However, 2013 will largely go down as a “what could have been year” for Hanley Ramirez despite the amazing and awe-inspiring numbers you see above. Why? All due to the fact that he only played in 86 games, racked up 336 plate appearances, and suffered through at least four injuries (thumb, hamstring, irritated nerve in back, ribs) while hitting the disabled list three times.

After suffering a thumb injury in the World Baseball Classic and not being able to suit up until the end of April, Hanley soon thereafter suffered a hamstring injury that forced him out once again. Another month went down the drain, but then something amazing happened: the injury gods allowed Ramirez to remain healthy long enough to help lead the Dodgers on a spectacular 42-8 run out of the NL West doldrums.

Unfortunately, Hanley dealt with nagging injuries down the stretch and was put on a “postseason first” plan by the club that included more rest, but the best laid plans of mice and men, as they say. After a scorching NLDS, one Joe Kelly fastball to the ribs ended Ramirez’s effectiveness in the NLCS and, in effect, the Dodgers’ offense and chances of advancing to the World Series.

Heading into 2014, the solid defense can’t exactly be counted on to repeat itself, as Hanley has been a terrible defensive shortstop throughout his career, costing his teams roughly 60 runs over his 10 years in The Show. He’ll also be a year older and is coming off of yet another lower-body injury that will further reduce his range. I don’t expect quite the same level of offensive output either, simply because a .363 BABIP (second-best ever for Hanley and 30 points higher than his career mark) can’t be assumed to occur once again.

That being said, a return to his consistently excellent offensive ways after a pair of down years and league-average seasons — especially if good health finds him and he keeps his strikeouts down — isn’t farfetched at all for Hanley.

Forced into more action than the super-sub role he was originally slated for, Nick Punto performed admirably in 2013 after being acquired late in 2012 as a throw-in in the Adrian Gonzalez deal. In 116 games — 71 of them starts, 33 of those at short — and 335 plate appearances (!), Punto hit .255/.328/.327/.655 with a .296 wOBA, 90 wRC+, and plus defense at two positions, as well as average glove work at a third spot.

Nick saved roughly five runs in the field in 2013 playing second, short, and third. He was at his best filling in at shortstop during HanRam’s multiple DL trips, with DRS and UZR both praising his work (5 and 6.4 runs saved, respectively). On a cheap one-year deal, he’s not a bad bench piece to have, especially considering the plus defense and Hanley’s recent propensity to suffer injuries.

Of course, a lot of fans were understandably not happy about how his season ended, which was him being picked off at second base in a key NLCS situation. Doesn’t sully his body of work, but I don’t even want to imagine if that was Yasiel Puig.

Dee Gordon is 25 years old and has amassed 669 plate appearances in the bigs over the last three years. His career slash line stands at .256/.301/.312/.613 with a .274 wOBA, 73 wRC+, 5.5 BB%, and .056 ISO. He can’t field at a defense-first position, doesn’t walk nearly enough even after career-best rates in both AAA and the majors in 2013, and doesn’t hit for power.

While I would absolutely love for him to learn all of these things during this winter playing in the Dominican, thus allowing him to be Hanley’s backup and a key bench piece in 2014, it’s just not going to happen. Whether Dee can ever consistently be a 25-man roster player with just speed alone isn’t even a certainty.

Gordon’s time in the DWL has come to an end, as he last played a week ago and has returned stateside. His final line comes in at .348/.412/.370/.782. With a couple of utility guys having left via free agency, the Dodgers will be giving Dee every chance in the world to build on his winter success in the spring and lock down one of the many open bench spots.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro put forth another impressive performance, fanning five while walking one and yielding nine hits over seven innings of one-run ball.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc has finished up his VWL stint, according to the man himself. He reached base in six of his last 12 plate appearances over his final four games, including a 3-for-3 effort. Joc’s final slash line: .255/.439/.473/.912 with 13 extra-base hits in 34 games and a 42:36 K:BB mark.

Nick Buss – OF

Buss reached in nine of his last 16 trips to the dish, including three straight two-hit showings. His overall performance is now at a solid .302/.348/.465/.813.

Chris Reed – LHP

Reed’s most recent start was his easily his best in Venezuela. The southpaw allowed no runs over six frames of four-baserunner ball, whiffing six against just one free pass. I’m a lot more pessimistic than most regarding expectations for Reed moving forward, as I see him as a peripheral trade piece or bullpen arm going forward.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

Cruz continued his hot MWL showing, reaching safely in half of his 18 plate appearances. He notched three walks against one strikeout while also having himself a three-hit night.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Juan pitched three scoreless innings this past week, keeping every opponent off of the bases while striking out one.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva reached safely in 10 of 20 trips to the dish, drawing five walks in five games this week. He’s hitting a robust .353/.500/.441/.941 through 14 games in Puerto Rico.

Jan Vazquez – C

Vazquez only made it into two games but made the most of his seven plate appearances, reaching safely four times. He drew three walks and hit his second homer of the winter.

Osvaldo Martinez – 3B

Osvaldo had five hits and a walk in three games, reaching base safely in each contest.

Andres Santiago – RHP

Santiago came in from the pen once this week, pitching four innings while fanning four and allowing four hits.

Clearly a conservative, smart move by the club to protect their newest investment.

—–

Arizona Fall League

Corey Seager – SS

Corey was impressive in his final AFL game, going 2-4. His final line isn’t good in the least — .181/.253/.306/.559 with a .265 wOBA — but he was clearly fatigued heading into the Arizona Fall League (he admitted as much) and I put zero stock in his performance, which would have been the case even had he torn up the league. He’s 19 and will likely see Double-A at some point in 2014 as a 20-year-old.

He’s damn good, and he’s the future of the club somewhere on the left side of the infield.

Brian Cavazos-Galvez went 3-4 with three doubles in the AFL finale.

Jarret Martin – LHP

Martin had a fine final performance, striking out both of the batters he faced in the Glendale Desert Dogs‘ last contest.

Gordon continues to swing the lumber well while playing center with the Tigres Del Licey, reaching base safely in five of 13 trips to the dish over his last three games, while stealing two bases in the process.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro allowed two runs (neither of them earned) over six frames of six-baserunner ball. He whiffed four against just one free pass.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc got himself back on track over the last four games, reaching safely in eight of 19 plate appearances. He walked four times and struck out just three times, getting back to his incredible OBP ways in the VWL.

Chris Reed – LHP

Reed made his Venezuelan debut, and it didn’t go smoothly. In two starts totaling 6.1 IP, the former first-rounder out of Stanford allowed five earned and 12 baserunners while walking four and striking out seven. On the positive side of things, his second start was much better (although he didn’t last long), as he fanned seven against just one walk.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

There’s some real confusion as to whether this is the former Dodger Luis Cruz or some other Luis Cruz. In the end, it really doesn’t matter, as whatever Cruz it is won’t be finding his way onto the 25-man roster.

Cruz has posted a .429 OBP over his last three contests while drawing four walks in that span.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Juan’s last two appearances have been his worst of the Mexican Winter League, as he’s allowed five runs and six baserunners over an inning of work.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva gets the nod for the second straight week after another excellent stretch. The 22-year-old posted a .579 OBP over his last four games, reaching base safely 11 times in all. He clubbed three doubles, drove in four, and drew four walks while striking out just one time.

Andres Santiago – RHP

Santiago made two appearances, allowing no runs and no baserunners over 3.2 IP. He fanned six in those two relief outings.

Matt Magill – RHP

Magill allowed two runs and five baserunners over five innings while whiffing four in his lone start of the week.

Australian Baseball League

Chris Jacobs – 1B

Jacobs had himself a monster three-game stretch in which he reached safely in nine of 16 trips to the plate and absolutely demolished the baseball. He had seven hits over the course of two games, including a homer and a double. During these three games, he scored five runs, drove in three, and drew a pair of walks against three whiffs.

Blake Smith – RHP

Smith made one relief appearance, throwing two innings of scoreless ball. He allowed one hit and struck out one batter.

The Dodgers will miss Nick Punto in the clubhouse as well as on the bench, but to keep him, they wouldn’t guarantee the $3 million he got from Oakland on Wednesday, doubling his 2013 salary.

The new in-house backup to Hanley Ramirez at shortstop, by default, becomes Dee Gordon, who is expanding his skill set by playing the outfield in the Dominican Republic Winter League.

I understand the desire to get younger and I understand that he wasn’t a great hitter, but he was passable with the bat and held down three positions. Besides, it’s a one-year deal, so I don’t see a ton of risk to excuse letting the best bench player in 2013 walk away.

If nothing else, another significant bench move now needs to be made, if for no other reason than this:

“I love Donnie,” Kasten said Wednesday after arriving at the Owners Meetings. “We’re all supporters of Donnie. I’m a fan personally as well as professionally. He has the attributes to be a long-term manager. Chiefly, it goes to his demeanor, the way he works with people. I hope and expect Donnie to be our manager for a long time. Anyone presenting a narrative otherwise is making it up.”

“I will take responsibility for any confusion because of the sequence and timing. We could have done a better job,” said Kasten, adhering to his policy of not discussing contracts with the media. “Once we had meetings, which began immediately that day, it was cleared up. But this narrative has been made up, that maybe we’re not behind him and don’t support him. Donnie and I have no hard feelings.”

Hard to figure that any bad blood would exist considering Mattingly called out both Kasten and Ned Colletti during that fit when he benched Andre Ethier, and both of them had his back in that case.

If Brian Wilson really doesn’t care about being a closer, then I’m not sure why the Dodgers shouldn’t try to overpay a bit for a setup man/backup closer. Granted, when Colletti is concerned, there’s always that fear of a three-year deal, but I hope to god he’s learned from that and will offer two years max, perhaps with a $7-9 million annual value (or more, whatever).

To be clear, though, Wilson is not Brandon League. I had feared Wilson would turn out similar in 2013 due to his lower velocity and the need to reinvent himself, but he showed both improved velocity AND the ability to pitch differently without his top shelf stuff. He was thoroughly impressive and his pedigree is far better than League’s ever was.

Yes, this is me in favor of Colletti overpaying a setup man. Get your laughs in now before the grief of a three-year deal worth $45 million sets in.

The hulking righty who spent part of 2013 closing out games for the Great Lakes Loons made his Arizona Fall League debut, pitching two scoreless innings and not allowing a baserunner in the process.

Dominican Winter League

Alexander Guerrero – 2B

Guerrero went 2-5 with a double and a pair of runs driven in during his DWL debut. In four games, his slash line is .429/.429/.714/1.143, and he did this yesterday:

Dee Gordon – CF

Gordon tore it up this week, racking up 18 plate appearances in four contests. He reached safely in nine of those 18 trips to the dish, including a pair of three-hit efforts.

Perhaps most impressive has been his plate discipline, as Dee walked twice and struck out twice this week. In eight DWL games, Dee is sporting a K:BB mark of 4:3.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro fanned six against three walks over five innings, allowing a pair of runs and six hits in the process.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc reached safely in three trips to the dish this week, while amassing 13 plate appearances. He struck out five times against one walk and has seen his out-of-this-world walk rate in the VWL normalize to simply insane (30 walks against 31 strikeouts in 24 games).

Nick Buss – OF

Buss reached in six of 15 trips to the plate. Three of his four hits were of the extra-base variety (one homer, two doubles). Nick drew his first walk of the winter in his 12th VWL game.

Ok, so it is in fact that Cruz. Luis belted his first homer of the winter, as well as a pair of doubles, while driving in four.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Noriega made four appearances totaling 2.1 IP last week. He struck out a pair against one walk while allowing no runs and four baserunners.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva played in his first three PWL games of the season, hitting .200/.385/.500/.885 with a homer and three walks against just two strikeouts.

Silva was signed by the club at some point in the recent past, as he spent 2013 with the Reds and played the entire season in the Cal League. He had a pretty solid High-A campaign (granted, he was somewhat old for the league at 22), slashing .271/.386/.414/.799.

Matt Magill – RHP

Magill’s second turn at PWL competition went much better than his debut start, as the righty threw four innings of one-run ball, allowing four baserunners while striking out four.

Australian Baseball League

John Cannon – C

Cannon reached base safely in five of eleven plate appearances, including a three-walk game.

James Campbell – RHP

After a terrible 2013 split between Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga, Campbell’s time in Australia hasn’t gone any better. In his most recent two appearances, James allowed two runs over three innings. On the plus side, he did fan five against just one free pass in those pair of relief stints.

The Puerto Rican Winter League and Australian Baseball League have also been added to the DOTF Winter League updates.

—–

Arizona Fall League

Corey Seager – SS

Seager played in two games this week because the AFL held its Fall Stars game, which Corey was a part of. He hit a homer and drove in two during the week, but went 0-3 with an RBI in five innings of the Fall Stars game.

Chris O’Brien – C

O’Brien hit a grand slam on Halloween night to help the Glendale Desert Dogs to a dominating 10-2 victory.

Jarret Martin – LHP

Martin made two relief appearances totaling 2.1 innings. He didn’t allow a run but allowed three baserunners, somehow working around two walks and a hit in his lone inning of work on Halloween.

Dominican Winter League

Dee Gordon – CF

Gordon, playing his new position, reached base twice in twelve plate appearances, stealing one base in the process.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro pitched 6.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out six against just one walk and five total baserunners.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc continued his torrid Winter League play, though he slowed a bit this week in reaching safely in just 8 of 26 trips to the dish. It was a mixed-bag week for Pederson, as he picked up a Golden Sombrero and struck out 11 times in six games, but also scored four runs and smacked a pair of extra-base hits.

Matt Palmer – RHP

The pickings were slim amongst the pitchers this week in Venezuela, as both Palmer and Red Patterson were terrible; Palmer was just slightly less terrible. Matt allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings of work, whiffing four and allowing three free passes and five hits.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

Cruz reached base at a .350 clip this past week, clubbing three doubles and driving in six.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Noriega made three appearances this past week, allowing one earned run and four baserunners over 2.1 innings. He fanned a pair in those three games.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Noel Cuevas – OF

Cuevas went 1-3 in his PWL debut. The 22-year-old is coming off of an improved but still disappointing 2013 season in High-A, and has a ceiling of organizational depth and maybe fifth outfielder.

Steve Smith – RHP

Smith pitched an inning and a third of scoreless ball in his lone appearance this week, striking out two while allowing just one baserunner.

Magill is the most interesting name of the eight Dodgers lacing ‘em up in Puerto Rico, as he’s one of the top contenders in 2014 for “next in line” should anything happen to a starter at the major league level.

His first start did not go well. He allowed four runs, a homer, and six baserunners in just 2.1 innings while whiffing three against three walks.

Australian Baseball League

Chris Jacobs – 1B

Jacobs posted a .438 OBP in his first week of action for the Brisbane Bandits on the strength of three hit-by-pitches.

Blake Smith – RHP

Smith made two appearances this week, allowing one run and three baserunners in two innings. He fanned one and walked two.

The league will not only offer the Dodgers their first extended look at recently signed Cuban infielder Alexander Guerrero, it will also be where Dee Gordon attempts to move from shortstop to center field.

Whether you like this move or not should basically be dependent on whether you think Dee can still have value as a regular in the future.

Why? Because even against minor league pitching, Dee never showed a ton of offensive upside. He never once posted an OPS above .800 in AAA Albuquerque, even though the league’s average OPS was ~.770 and his home park was an absolute launching pad.

For all intents and purposes, he was fringe average as a prospect in terms of production and the scouting reports weren’t all that much more friendly. In the majors, his career line is .256/.301/.312/.614, which is only made worse by the fact that his best showing was in his debut from three years ago.

Essentially, the only position where his bat could be acceptable as a MLB regular on a playoff-contending team like the Dodgers, even assuming progress, would be catcher and shortstop. Thus, moving him to center just puts that much more pressure on his defense and his bat, the former is a complete unknown and the latter looks bleak. To put it in perspective, with all the complaining about Matt Kemp’s 2013 (and it WAS bad), he still posted a better OPS than Gordon by 100 points. To say the least, it’s an uphill battle for Gordon to become a regular if he’s going to be in center.

On the other hand, if you’ve given up on him as a potential regular, there’s a potential silver lining in the move. Gordon is still valuable for his speed as a pinch runner, but he was never an actual bench consideration because he both couldn’t play his position and couldn’t hit. However, if he can get to the point where he can be average or even above-average in center, it extends his versatility and makes him a decent reserve option. Even if he never ends up hitting much better than mid-600s in OPS, the defensive utility makes it possible to roster him as a fifth outfielder because of the impact he could make in certain baserunning situations.

I’ve wanted to keep him at short in the past on the off-chance that he actually shows improvement at the plate and in the field. But going into his age 26 season, I think it’s fair to say that complete overhaul as a player is not going to come at short, but he could still salvage a career as a reserve outfielder. Disappointing end result for a player once ranked as the top prospect in the system, but the rational choice for his future.

2) Yasiel Puig still not making horrific mistakes that lose the game any more than any other member.

That’s like a half dozen heads-up/good defensive plays in the playoffs against one defensive misplay.

He hit like crap today but so did the team.

3) Carlos Beltran is not human and the Dodgers should protest the game because robots are not allowed.

I didn’t capture the game-winning hit because I was in a fit of rage at the moment, but whatever, this is a Dodger blog and I’m SURE YOU GET THE POINT.

Also, remember when Andre Ethier was being hailed as an above-average center fielder? That was fun.

4) Don Mattingly … why?

In the top of the eighth inning, Adrian Gonzalez walked and was pinch run for by Dee Gordon … why? It’s a tie game, the run is not even guaranteed to matter at that juncture, and A-Gon was likely to get another chance through the order at the rate the game was going. So, of course, Gordon didn’t even attempt to steal and Puig grounded out to short, a ground out that would have been an infield hit if Gordon went at any point in the at-bat. That’s bad enough, but the consequences really came seeking Mattingly in Game 1.

Naturally it was Michael Young at first, because Scott Van Slyke was in witness protection (his first action, of course, was in center field). Young managed to fly into a double play and ground into a double play, both at soul-crushing moments, somehow making him one of the worst hitters in postseason single-game history in one plate appearance.

Michael Young's -.527 WPA is the 6th lowest ever for a postseason game

In the situation in the 10th, Hanley Ramirez was intentionally walked to get to Young, taking the bat out of his hands. Mark Ellis then wheelchaired his way to home on a fly ball to shallow right while Beltran gunned him down.

Carl Crawford walked, Mattingly bunted him over with Ellis and took the bat out of the hands of Hanley again, and Young did his gritty veteran thing … again.

Hanley didn’t get to bat, A-Gon didn’t get to bat, and Young made sure Puig didn’t get more chances with runners on. Arguably the three best hitters in the lineup were robbed of opportunities again and again because of that move, and people wonder why they didn’t score for the last ten innings? Makes total sense to me.

—–

I usually defend Mattingly because the average manager does dumb things all the time as well. But these aren’t things he was doing during the regular season, he’s changing his game decision-making for the worse. Game 2 of the NLDS and Game 1 of the NLCS are prime examples of that, and there’s really no defense for how he’s handled the situations.

Worried about Puig and Greinke choking? It’s Mattingly who has completely changed his M.O. and has looked nervous during the postseason.

The Dodgers now have one lefty out of the pen to pitch against a team that’s 25th in wOBA against lefties but 3rd in wOBA against righties. Furthermore, J.P. Howell is probably the team’s third-best reliever, but he has to almost be saved now for key lefty matchup situations, which means Ronald Belisario and friends are likely gonna get key innings ahead of him … K.

To say that I don’t understand swapping Paco Rodriguez and Chris Capuano for Edinson Volquez and Carlos Marmol is an understatement. Unless the pair of relievers were close to death, I have to question why you would drop either of them for CARLOS FREAKIN MARMOL.

The Dodgers are set to play the Cardinals in the 2013 NLCS, which is interesting because it’s not interesting. In other words, the media hasn’t really figured out a narrative here. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sportsgave it a go, but it was sort of a half-hearted rich/poor thing.

So maybe, just MAYBE, the baseball can speak for itself? Here’s hoping, but I doubt it. Something about Adam Wainwright teaching Yasiel Puig how to be a better man or whatever.

wRC+ is a player’s offensive production. The moar over 100 the player is, the moar gooder they are.
BR is BRR/BsR averaged. BR/150 means it’s per 150 games.
D is UZR/DRS/FRAA averaged. D/150 means it’s per 150 games.
ERA-/FIP- mean the moar under 100 the player is the better.

Positionnal adjustment, replacement level, and WAR don’t matter for these matchups. I wanted everything context neutral and judged on the same playing field, hence this methodology.

In other words, why penalize current starters for being part-time players during the regular season if they’re full-time players now?

Is this perfect? Absolutely not, but I think it provides a starting point for discussion.

—–

Catcher

Yadier Molina is worse on the bases than A.J. Ellis, but he hits like 40% better. Catcher defense on that chart should be thrown out, since it’s the most difficult thing for sabermetrics to gauge. Still though, Molina dominates in that category and his impact is arguably even greater than what that comparison shows.

They’re both slow as hell, but Matt Adams lacks Adrian Gonzalez‘s reactions and hands, so A-Gon grades out as a superior defender. Adams can smash the ball a bit better than A-Gon, but he’s done it over a far smaller sample size. Furthermore, Adams has a brutal platoon split, one that A-Gon doesn’t have.

I’ll take A-Gon’s track record, defense, and lack of need for a platoon partner.

Advantage: #Didgers, but it’s closer than most would think.

Second Base

Mark Ellis is a better defender, but Matt Carpenter will be on the NL MVP ballot for his combination of hitting and baserunning that’s complimented by a solid glove.

Juan Uribe is a better all-around player at the moment, mainly due to David Freese‘s year-long slump. Freese’s defense was never good, but he usually hits better than he has in 2013, which would make this closer.

Unfortunately for him, Uribe is in the middle of a Gold Glove caliber defensive campaign, is solidly above-average with the bat, and even runs the bases better. Freese would have the whole intangibles/clutch thing going for him if it wasn’t for the fact that Uribe has two World Series rings and just hit the most memorable Dodger homer in recent history.

Advantage: #Didgers by more than their reputations would imply.

Shortstop

Pete Kozma is great defensively, but Hanley Ramirez is just carrying this Dodgers team and has been all year while healthy. Andrelton Simmons is a better defender and a better hitter than Kozma, and Hanley still got the nod over him last series, so this is Hanley in a runaway.

Advantage: #Didgers because Hanley rules.

Left Field

Carl Crawford hit three homers in a four-game span, which was great, but we also have to remember why that was so great. The primary reason being that he had hit one homer since May 7, and there’s probably no way he does that again at any point in his career. Even if you give him a bit of a boost, Matt Holliday has been one of the more consistently excellent hitters of the last decade, and nobody seems to care.

Andre Ethier is the easy choice here over Jon Jay because he hits better and they’re both mediocre defensively … oh wait, Ethier’s not 100%.

Jay has struggled a bit with the bat and glove in 2013, but Ethier’s not fully healthy and was already mediocre in center. Also, I have to wonder how the long layoff will affect his bat.

Advantage: Push because Ethier might be a gimp, though Jay is basically fringe-average.

Right Field

Yasiel Puig vs. Carlos Beltran is a great matchup because it’s easy to choose Puig when looking at the regular season comparison but Beltran is one of the greatest postseason hitters of all-time.

Puig proved his worth in the NLDS already. He basically made one blunder, which cost the Dodgers a single base, but he posted an OPS above 1.000 and was otherwise solid defensively and on the basepaths. Like everybody has said about the concerns regarding Puig, the bottom line is that he provides more value than he costs in the big picture.

So that’s good for Puig and all, but Beltran is not human. His postseason line is .345/.453/.761/1.214, and while I realize that might be statistical noise, I just can’t overlook how horrifying it is to face him at this point in the season. I tell myself that it’s irrational and he’s bound to regress to the mean at some point, especially given his age … and then boom, he hits a homer. It’s ridiculous at this point.

Advantage: Push because I love Puig and objectively he should be the better player, but Beltran is some kind of playoff robot that needs to go away.

Rotation

This is similar to the matchup with the Braves, where the Dodgers have the better rotation, but the difference isn’t as significant as it would seem on paper. Also, unlike the Braves, the Cardinals have an ace in Adam Wainwright that matches Clayton Kershaw in terms of providing a clear advantage over his opposing pitcher (Hyun Jin Ryu/Michael Wacha). I would take Zack Greinke over Lance Lynn or Joe Kelly, though, and Ricky Nolasco is basically a push going against either of those two for me.

Here’s the decider for me, though: the Dodgers rank 15th in the majors against lefties via wOBA and 11th against righties, putting them in the middle of the pack, regardless. But the Cardinals are 25th against lefties and 3rd against righties, and fortunately for the Dodgers, they have two quality lefties in their rotation.

Advantage: #Didgers win barely on matchups but a wider gap emerges when factoring in lineups and handedness.

Bench

The Dodgers have a prototypical utility man in Nick Punto, who can hit a bit but really stars on defense and as a potential replacement should anything happen to a starter. Michael Young and Skip Schumaker will likely handle pinch-hitting duties, hopefully in platoon roles, as both are actually solid singles hitters against the opposite handedness. As always, neither should see the field if at all possible. Scott Van Slyke has pop off the bench, though he went inexplicably unused in the NLDS. Tim Federowicz is a defense-first backup catcher. If Dee Gordon makes the team, then he’s basically the designated pinch runner.

The Cardinals will likely go with Kolten Wong, Daniel Descalso, Shane Robinson, Tony Cruz, and Adron Chambers. That is … not a good bench. Out of those five players, only Robinson has a wOBA over .300, and even that’s only at .303. Also, as far as I can tell, none are particularly good at defense nor are they experienced.

Advantage: #Didgers in a landslide.

Bullpen

The Dodgers’ pen is rock solid in theory. Kenley Jansen is an elite closer. Brian Wilson has been almost flawless since being signed. J.P. Howell has regained his old form as a shutdown lefty. Rookie Chris Withrow has emerged as a reliable late option as a power arm. Paco Rodriguez and Ronald Belisario both had good years. Of course, the issue is that both Paco and Beli have collapsed down the stretch, and since Withrow can still be prone to doubts of command issues, it essentially leaves Mattingly with Howell as his third-best option. Chris Capuano looking solid in the NLDS is promising, but he’s still a wild card, and the same goes for the potential addition of Edinson Volquez or Carlos Marmol.

The Cardinals, on the other hand, have so much young pitching talent that they put Shelby Miller (temporarily?) in the pen. He makes the unit that posted a 3.26 FIP in 2013 even better. Miller joins the likes of Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez, Edward Mujica, John Axford, and Seth Maness from the right. And Kevin Siegrist and Randy Choate will come from the left.

Advantage: @BestFansStLouis by quite a bit. Their young power arms shine, while two of the Dodgers’ best relievers are limping into the NLCS.

Overall

The Dodgers are the more talented team on paper and have an advantage in a lot of the key matchups, but it’s not by all that much. A lot of how this series will go is going to depend on how the Cardinals choose their rotation (Miller?) and how they handle the two lefties in Kershaw and Ryu.

Not only do the Cardinals have to beat Greinke and Kershaw at least once, but if the series goes seven games, they could see the lefties four times as well. I would pick the Cardinals if it wasn’t for the platoon splits, but in a lot of ways this is a bad matchup for them. In the end, I see that being the difference and I’m picking the Dodgers in seven.

The Dodgers head into the 2013 NLCS against the Cardinals looking to be a much better team than they were earlier in the week during the NLDS. While the squad’s NLCS roster should look almost identical to the NLDS roster, there should be a couple tweaks, as the club hopes to getAndre Ethier back healthy and perhaps will add more depth to their battered pen.

Hobbled Hanley Ramirez was kept indoors, but healing Andre Ethier was running down fly balls in the gap Wednesday as the Dodgers worked out at Dodger Stadium in preparation for Friday’s start of the National League Championship Series.

As he did throughout the NL Division Series, Ramirez is expected to be in the starting lineup at shortstop for Game 1 in St. Louis. And Ethier is a good bet to be in center field if he feels as well Friday as he looked Wednesday, turning and sprinting full speed to chase fly balls while the Cardinals-Pirates game was being shown on the video boards.

“It feels good,” Ethier said. “We’ll see where I am tomorrow.”

Pitching single innings in the simulated game were Brandon League, Carlos Marmol, Edinson Volquez and Chris Withrow. Only Withrow was on the NLDS roster.

League, Marmol, Volquez, Jerry Hairston, Peter Moylan, Nick Buss and Drew Butera continue to work with the club. They were not on the NLDS roster. Mattingly wouldn’t reveal if there would be any changes to the roster for the NLCS.

So factoring that information into my choices, here’s what I came up with:

Rotation

Clayton Kershaw
Zack Greinke
Hyun Jin Ryu
Ricky Nolasco

No changes from the NLDS here. Some concern about Hyun Jin Ryu‘s health and Ricky Nolasco‘s efficacy, but I’m honestly not fretting over either at this point. Just cautious.

I add Edinson Volquez here. Only Michael Young and Ethier pinch-hit in the NLDS, and if Don Mattingly is going to use his bench that way, they might as well add another arm. This is especially true with the slightly increased risk of short outings from Ryu and Nolasco, in addition to now potentially needing Chris Capuano as a shutdown LOOGY out of the pen with Paco Rodriguez scuffling.

I think Ethier will be back in center to start over Skip Schumaker. Reasons to be skeptical? Yes, but I think they played it right in the NLDS and at the end of the season, as they were patient in waiting for him to get healthy when there was every temptation to rush him back.

Given that, I think you move Yasiel Puig to the top and flip-flop Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez. Besides the handedness advantage to that batting order, Mark Ellis finally gets to hit where he should be hitting, especially against the Cardinals’ all right-handed rotation. Speaking of which, that means there’s no need to platoon Ethier in the starting lineup, so Scott Van Slyke can be saved for a pinch. Will Mattingly use him when Ethier is facing Randy Choate with the bases loaded? That’s the question.

It’s a shallow bench now, but Mattingly only used Young and Ethier extensively anyway, so it’s clear he has little intention of removing regulars during the postseason. The Dodgers have cover at every position, the platoon of Young and Schumaker likely first off the bench to pinch-hit, and Van Slyke saved for power opportunities (I hope).

Missing Dee Gordon is a risk if Ethier or whoever else isn’t 100% to run, but if that were to happen there are bigger problems than can be fixed by using a roster spot on a pinch-runner. There’s an argument to be made for Dee, but he has little-to-no utility outside of his speed at the moment, so I see more use in having an extra pitcher, particularly with the potential of playing seven games in nine days.

—–

Overall, not much changed here, but swapping Schumaker for Ethier in the starting lineup and helping out the pen by swapping Dee and Volquez are two upgrades. One’s significant and one’s minor, but they’re upgrades nonetheless, and heading into a series with the impossible-to-kill Cardinals, I’d prefer all the advantages the Dodgers can get.

The title isn’t meant to be disrespectful to the Braves or infer that they didn’t deserve to win … but it never ever should have gone the way it did. It was just ridiculously bad decision making on Mattingly’s part.

—–

In the top of the seventh inning, Skip Schumaker — who essentially showed why he shouldn’t have started to begin with — chopped a ball past starter Mike Minor for an infield single, and then A.J. Ellis followed with a predictable but pointless bunt. Michael Young pinch-hit for Zack Greinke and got a ‘hit’ via a gift from the scorer and Luis Ayala:

After a pitching change, it’s now first-and-third with one out and Carl Crawford is up against lefty pitcher Luis Avilan. Crawford has a .551 OPS against lefties in 2013 and Avilan’s primary role is to handle hitters like Crawford. So my question is why have Scott Van Slyke if not for situations like this?

The only reason I could think of would be that Donnie wanted to stay out of the double play … though that’s what happened anyway. Literally any result in play but a ball back to a pitcher ties the game, and he goes with the lefty outfielder who can’t hit lefties that was struggling just to make contact.

That was bad enough, but forgivable and predictable in a way. Unfortunately, it got way, way, way worse.

In the bottom of the frame, with runners at second and third and two out, the Braves pinch-hit Jose Constanza. At this point, Mattingly had a few options:

1) Pitch to Constanza with Chris Withrow because Constanza sucks.

2) Bring in Paco Rodriguez or J.P. Howell to face Constanza.

3) Bring in Paco or Howell to face Constanza, let Fredi Gonzalez pinch-hit with Reed Johnson, and let either of the two lefties face Johnson because he’s Johnson.

Never did it cross my mind that he would walk REED JOHNSON — who had not gotten a hit since July 28 — intentionally to get to one of the Braves’ best hitters in Jason Heyward … with two outs …. with the bases loaded.

It made literally no sense to me at the time.

The only advantage in walking Johnson was that the force would be in play, BUT THERE WERE TWO OUTS, how is that worth like ~200 OPS points in hitting ability, putting the hitter in a more comfortable mental state as a result of the loaded bases, and adding the possibility of walking a run in? There is no way in the world to justify it, regardless of outcome, but of course Heyward singled to center to basically put the game away after Paco fell behind 2-0.

To make me even sicker about this game though, Hanley Ramirez did this the next inning:

So it ended up being 4-3 in favor of the Braves when there was a possibility that it could have been 3-2 or something of the sort. I know it doesn’t work that way, but it makes you realize how important those sequences were in that inning.

*I’ve seen the pictures, but it still isn’t conclusive to me. It shows the ball in Andrelton Simmons‘ open glove, but in the next frame his glove is no longer in contact with Gordon. You don’t get credit for catching the ball when it touches your glove, you get credit for the catch when you secure it. Hard to tell, replay or not.

No surprises with the starting rotation or the bullpen, except for Chris Capuano, who managed to beat out Edinson Volquez, Carlos Marmol, and Brandon League. Hard to think that his two pen appearances (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 K) to end the season weren’t the deciding factor here. Trust is the most important thing, and they could trust Capuano but not the other three, I believe.

Anyway, this is basically how I wanted the roster constructed, though I’m surprised they went with Dee Gordon over Jerry Hairston Jr.. Not complaining at all, just surprised. Also, making the right roster choices doesn’t mean they’ll be employed optimally, but this is a start.

Overall, solid choices by the front office and/or manager, and it honestly makes me feel better that they’re fielding what I think is the best roster possible.

—–

With the roster settled and everything optimal, expect Mark Ellis and Skip Schumaker to lead the offense, Nolasco to lead the rotation, and Capuano to lead the bullpen.

The Dodgers could give shortstop Dee Gordon a look at second base or in the outfield over the final three weeks of the regular season.

“There’s a possibility as the season goes on that we would see him somewhere other than short,” manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday. “I think we could see him play somewhere different.”

He’s already seen game action at second this week.

—–

Alex Castellanos and Nick Busswere called up from AAA due to the entire Dodgers‘ outfield battling various injuries.

The Dodgers have been hit by a spate of injuries of late and on Saturday called up a pair of reinforcements from Triple-A Albuquerque before their game against the Giants. Alex Castellanos and Nick Buss were promoted from the Isotopes.

Castellanos was already on the 40-man but Buss had to be added. To make room, relief pitcher Jose Dominguez was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Dominguez, sidelined with a left quad strain, last pitched for the Dodgers on July 22 and was slow to recover in his rehab.

Buss, 26, was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round in 2008 out of USC. He was named to the all-Pacific Coast League All-Star team after hitting .303/.363/.525 with 17 home runs, 29 doubles, 11 triples and 100 RBI in 131 games for the Isotopes. Buss also stole 21 bases in 23 attempts.

He was voted by Isotopes teammates and coaches as the Dodger Pride Award winner, given at each level to players who “play the game with a hustling, smart, aggressive style”, on offense in both June and August this season.

Buss had to be added to the 40-man roster, so Jose Dominguez was transferred to the 60-day DL in a corresponding move.

The Dodgers added another layer of intrigue to their potential playoff roster discussion on Wednesday as left-handed pitcher Onelki Garcia was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque before their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Garcia was 2-4 with a 2.90 ERA between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Albuquerque this season, with 67 strikeouts and 35 walks in 62 innings. He held left-handed batters to 11 singles, 11 walks and three hit batters in 89 plate appearances in 2013, hitting .149/.281/.149.

Shawn Tolleson was moved to the 60-day DL to allow for Garcia’s addition to the 40-man roster. Though eligible for the postseason roster, it’s unlikely he would make it barring a number of injuries to lefty pitchers, particularly after his shaky start.

—–

Chris Withrowwas recalled after the Triple-A season came to a conclusion. He’ll be a key piece to the pen moving forward, particularly in the postseason.

Matt Kempre-injured his hamstring during his rehab stint and his return timetable has been pushed back, with some reporting that he’s out indefinitely.

The planned comeback of Matt Kemp has taken a turn for the worse, as the Dodgers center fielder felt tightness in his right hamstring, the team announced Friday. While the Dodgers announced Kemp’s rehab would be slowed down, manager Don Mattingly said Kemp would be shut down “indefinitely,” per Dodger Talk co-host David Vassesgh.

Kemp has been sidelined since July 21 with a sprained left ankle, but also missed 24 games on a separate disabled list stint in May and June with a right hamstring strain.

“I’m not ready to concede anything, but at some point we run out of time,” manager Don Mattingly told reporters before Friday’s game against the Reds in Cincinnati, per Vassegh.

The Dodgers have had outfielders Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig and Kemp healthy and active for a total of two games and 10 innings this season.

Rain in Arizona limited Kemp (strained hamstring) to hitting in the cage Sunday. He simulated 15 at-bats against live pitching on Saturday. Mattingly said trainers have told him the chances for Kemp’s return won’t be able to be accurately assessed until Sept. 16 at the earliest, 10 days after his most recent injury. Kemp strained his right hamstring Friday during a rehab workout session.

“If he can play, we can activate him, but he has to be able to play,” Mattingly said.

Hyun-jin Ryu will not make his scheduled start for the Dodgers on Friday in Cincinnati against the Reds, the team announced on Wednesday. The left-hander has mild stiffness in his back, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

The Dodgers will still send a left-handed pitcher to the mound in the series opener against Cincinnati, which features left-handed hitters Joey Votto, Shin-Soo Choo and Jay Bruce. Chris Capuano starts Friday in place of Ryu, with the remainder of the series (Zack Greinke on Saturday, Clayton Kershaw on Sunday) remaining the same.

Dodgers rookie left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was scratched from his scheduled start Friday due to back stiffness, threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Sunday and said he should be able to make his scheduled start Wednesday against Arizona.

Chris Capuano retired five of the six batters he faced on Friday night against the Reds, but the Dodgers left-handed pitcher left is start in Cincinnati with two outs in the second inning after suffering a mild left groin strain, per the Prime Ticket broadcast.

Capuano struck out Todd Frazier for the second out of the second inning but then summoned catcher Tim Federowicz and trainer Sue Falsone to the mound, along with manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. After throwing a warm-up pitch Capuano was removed from the game.

It was unclear at first exactly what Capuano hurt, but he was stretching his lower body. He missed three weeks earlier in the season with a strained left calf.

The Dodgers on Saturday night have reportedly made a move, acquiring infielder Michael Young from the Phillies, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The trade comes just before the 9 p.m. PT deadline for players to be eligible for the postseason.

The Dodgers acquired another veteran for their bench on Saturday with the trade for infielder Michael Young from the Phillies. The Dodgers acquired Young and cash considerations for left-handed minor league pitcher Rob Rasmussen, and Young waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the transaction.

“He can play first, he can play third. He can come off the bench. He’s a professional hitter in a lot of ways. He’s someone who we feel has a lot left,” said general manager Ned Colletti. “As we’ve done in the past on August 31, we looked to add somebody of character and of quality, and we feel like he’s both of those.”

Which is fine, but any starts over Juan Uribe, Adrian Gonzalez, or Scott Van Slyke instantly makes the Dodgers worse.

The Dodgers have signed Edinson Volquez to a major-league deal and the Padres will pay all but the pro-rated minimum of his salary, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The Dodgers were obviously not comfortable with Chris Capuano‘s performance as the fifth starter, and Stephen Fife has been getting knocked around in AAA after the Dodgers had him switching roles. I can’t imagine they signed Volquez to be a bullpen arm, as they already have 13 pitchers and three experiments in there.

There’s no real risk here, but the problem is that Volquez is basically the worst pitcher in the majors right now, or at least he’s close to it. He has a 6.01 ERA in 142.1 innings and leads the league in earned runs surrendered. Of course, his FIP is 4.20, his xFIP is 4.23, and his SIERA is 4.49, so he figures to regress back to mediocrity, but both Capuano and Fife have better peripherals AND performance than Volquez does.

Chris Withrow was sent to AAA in a corresponding roster move, though the righty will return after Albuquerque ends their season on Monday.

The Dodgers made official the move that was first reported on Wednesday with the signing of Edinson Volquez to a major league contract for the remainder of the season. Volquez was activated before the Dodgers’ game Friday night against the Padres.

To make room for Volquez on the active roster the Dodgers optioned Chris Withrow to Triple-A Albuquerque, though the move is only temporary as the Isotopes’ season concludes on Monday. Withrow can be activated as soon as Tuesday, when the Dodgers are in Colorado to face the Rockies, and because the minor league season is over doesn’t have to wait the normal 10 days when optioned.

Volquez has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball in 2013, so expecting anything of him would be misguided. A shot in the dark.

The Dodgers made their first wave of promotions on Sunday, adding five players from Triple-A Albuquerque on the first ay roster limits expand. The team recalled catcher Drew Butera, outfielder / first baseman Scott Van Slyke, infielder Dee Gordon, and pitcher Peter Moylan and Stephen Fife on Sunday.

Van Slyke has the most potential to make an impact in the postseason, and if Fife could get himself right again he could be in contention for a bullpen spot in the playoffs.

Julio Uriashas been shut down by the Dodgers after he reached his innings limit. The 17-year-old southpaw was fantastic in his debut campaign playing for the Great Lakes Loons in Low-A Ball, and the future is bright as he continues his development.

Tomorrow is the day the Dodgers have been awaiting for a month now: the day rosters expand. The bullpen doesn’t currently consist of Brian Wilson, Brandon League, Carlos Marmol, and Edinson Volquez because they’re the best the organization has, but rather because they have upside and the team wants another month to evaluate them for the postseason roster and 2014. Sep. 1 is that magical day they get to keep all those aforementioned guys and call-up everybody they’ve kept in the minors who could have been helping the roster all along.

Generally speaking, this is where fans would be dreaming of Joc Pederson or Zach Lee or even Ross Stripling, but none of them are on the 40-man roster, and with the addition of Volquez to fill out the 40-man, a roster move in that area appears unlikely. That said, Ned Colletti does expect more than a few players to be called up:

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said he would be surprised if he adds a player in a waiver trade before Saturday’s deadline, though he expects the Dodgers to call up five to seven Minor Leaguers once rosters expand on Sunday.

“It’s a small list of phone calls,” Colletti said. “The deadline at this point is really no different than it was in July. There’s still not a tremendous amount of sellers.”

So no waiver trades are expected, which isn’t surprising, but five to seven guys are expected to come up sooner than later.

99%

The no-brainers are Scott Van Slyke, Chris Withrow, and Drew Butera. The former two are on the optimal roster anyway, and Butera is the third catcher for September depth/day-to-day insurance.

75%

Dee Gordon and Stephen Fife figure to join the fray considering they were with the team a bunch this year. Gordon would be up for his speed and ability to play short (sort of), while Fife would be there as the long relief/spot starter guy or perhaps even take the fifth starter role if he gets right.

They aren’t locks, though, because Gordon has been generally terrible and I think the team has rightfully soured on him, while they passed Fife many times and added Volquez, which says a lot about their current confidence level in him (he’s getting rocked at AAA).

50%

So this is where it gets a bit murky for me: Javy Guerra, Matt Magill, Peter Moylan, Alex Castellanos, and Jose Dominguez.

All have had time with the team in 2013, but could be out of favor for different reasons. Castellanos has fallen behind Van Slyke on the depth chart, and with Matt Kemp soon returning, carrying six outfielders might seem like overkill. Moylan could be a useful arm, but the Dodgers didn’t seem all that shy about demoting him while they clung on desperately to other veterans, so he could have a superfluous existence on the roster. Guerra and Magill are the likeliest options on the depth chart, but the team has been decidedly hesitant to call either up lately. I would predict Guerra comes up for mop-up duty but Magill stays down so that he doesn’t have to adjust to a relief role.

As far as Dominguez goes, I think he’s a lock if he’s healthy … if. Currently he’s not healthy, and he’s one of the guys that Colletti is likely talking about as call-ups after Sunday.

25%

Justin Sellers, Elian Herrera, and Shawn Tolleson fill out this tier. Everything I said about Castellanos? Double that for Herrera, who has more versatility but is even further behind in the pecking order. Same goes for Sellers, who I have to believe is behind Gordon if they gave Gordon the call first earlier in the year.

Tolleson is in Dominguez’s shoes, except it’s been longer since he’s last pitched and he’s not simply slow to recover, he’s had a setback.

I figure I don’t have to explain Pederson and Lee, who are among the team’s top prospects. Stripling is up there as well (2.56 FIP AA), but he has to be behind Fife, Magill, and Lee, at least. Onelki (3.57 FIP 2013) and De La Cruz (2.75 FIP 2013) have advantages because they’re both lefty relievers, and Onelki has been seemingly fast-tracked by the team, so that says a lot to me. Onelki probably has the best realistic shot at being promoted out of everybody in this tier. Buss (.903 OPS/.373 wOBA 2013) has raked at AAA all year, but the team has a lot of outfield options that are already on the 40-man. Yimi is a long-shot, but after posting a 1.21 FIP between A-ball levels last year and a 3.17 FIP in AA this year, I just wanted to mention him. Underrated arm.

—–

In all, there was a surprising amount of experience on the 40-man roster, which is likely why they won’t be calling up inexperienced top prospects as they fight for home-field advantage down the stretch. That’s actually good news though, as the roster gets significantly better with the half dozen or so guys who will get the call.

SS Corey Seager, OF Brian Cavazos Galvez, C Pratt Maynard, and C Chris O’Brien are the four Dodgers prospects confirmed to be headed to the Arizona Fall League in 2013. In addition, four pitchers will likely be sent to the AFL, and they’ll be named at a later date.

Seager, likely the Dodgers top prospect, headlines the quartet, as O’Brien, Maynard, and Cavazos Galvez are probably going there for experience as future organizational depth than as actual potential impact players.

Praise the baseball gods as our games will be filled by the man everybody loves – with his wonderment and joy – and not by Steve Lyons.

—–

The Dodgers optioned Dee Gordonback to AAA and recalledScott Van Slyke, who’s racking up some serious frequent flyer miles in 2013.

The Dodgers did option shortstop Dee Gordon to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, a move that was expected with the return of shortstop Hanley Ramirez to the lineup. But rather than to make room for relief pitcher Brian Wilson, Gordon was optioned in favor of Scott Van Slyke, who was recalled from the Isotopes before the Dodgers’ game against the Phillies.

With Hanley Ramirez back, there’s less of a need for Dee and a huge need for the power SVS can bring off the bench and as a platoon partner for Andre Ethier.

Of course, SVS didn’t have much time to enjoy his call-up, as he was soon thereafter sent back to Albuquerque as Brian Wilsonwas finally activated.

General Manager Ned Colleti took a low-risk high-reward gamble on Brian Wilson. The former Giant closer signed with the Dodgers on July 30, and will makes his team debut against the Marlins on Monday, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. While in the minor-leagues, Wilson tossed 4.1 scoreless innings as hitters accumulated a disastrous .071 batting average.

All indications are that Wilson’s going to be the set-up man, and while I don’t have a problem with that if he’s pitching well, he should have to earn the role. Also, using him over Paco Rodriguez in high-leverage situations is not what I want to see.

Dodgers minor league shortstop Corey Seager, arguably the club’s top prospect, is about to have a new home. The 6’4″ shortstop, drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2012 draft, has been promoted to advanced Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Seager was tremendous in Low-A, especially after coming off the DL earlier this season, and a promotion was just a matter of time.

]]>http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/08/making-moves-goodbye-ted-lilly-corey-seager-promoted-tyger-pederson-signs-injury-moves/feed/0Making Moves: Hairston back in action, Miller moved off the mound, recovering Songco promotedhttp://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/05/making-moves-hairston-back-in-action-miller-moved-off-the-mound-recovering-songco-promoted/
http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/05/making-moves-hairston-back-in-action-miller-moved-off-the-mound-recovering-songco-promoted/#commentsTue, 28 May 2013 14:07:20 +0000http://www.chadmoriyama.com/?p=15812

Jerry Hairston Jr.was activated from the DL, and Dee Gordon was sent to AAA in a corresponding move in order to clear a 25-man roster spot.

The Dodgers on Monday activated Jerry Hairston before their game with the Angels, and to make room on the roster optioned shortstop Dee Gordon to Triple-A Albuquerque. Hairston, who has been sidelined since May 5 with injuries to his left groin and left knee, is in the lineup for the Dodgers on Monday, playing left field and batting seventh.

Nick Punto will play the bulk of the time at shortstop until Hanley Ramirez returns from the disabled list, with the other starts going to Luis Cruz. Manager Don Mattingly said Ramirez could begin a rehab assignment over the weekend, which puts him in line for a return early on the next homestand, about a week away.

Former first-round pick Aaron Millerhas been converted from the mound to the outfield and sent down from AA to A-ball to begin the transition.

The Dodgers have decided to switch things up with former supplemental first round pick Aaron Miller. The left-handed pitcher has been demoted from Double-A Chattanooga to Class-A Great Lakes, and will switch to the outfield.

“This was something the organization has been talking about for close to a year. His velocity had dropped and he’s had some nagging injuries,” said Dodgers head of player development De Jon Watson. “He was a two-way player coming out of Baylor when we drafted him and we liked what we saw in his bat when he pitched.”

Miller hit .310/.415/.568 with 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 50 strikeouts, and 25 walks in 56 games in his junior season in 2009. The Dodgers drafted Miller 36th overall in the 2009 draft, and head of scouting Logan White at the time called Miller a pitcher in the Erik Bedard mold.

“We felt this was the right time to make the switch given his age and his desire to continue pursuing his big league dream and help this organization,” Watson said.

If it keeps him in the system, why not, as he wasn’t making progress as a pitcher.

It’s unlikely he’ll hit half as well as he did in college, but stranger things have happened, and there’s always the possibility he could be the next Rick Ankiel.

In six short days with the team in 2013, Dee Gordon has already showcased everything that once made him a top prospect and everything that made him one of the worst players in the MLB last year.

It’s a tiny sample, yet he’s managed to fit in so much amazement and failure that his performance has been noteworthy, regardless. In a way, he’s proven both his supporters and detractors correct so far.

Me? I’m neutral on his call-up, because while I think there’s certainly more upside to him than Justin Sellers or Luis Cruz or Juan Uribe, there’s also downside.

Generally speaking, Sellers and Cruz might be around 0 WAR players. Maybe they’re 0.5 WAR guys, maybe they’re -0.5 WAR guys, but at the end of the day, they should fall in around there. Fringe utility players, basically.

Gordon, on the other hand, has always had an upside around a 3 WAR player, but his downside, as seen last year, is that of around a -3 WAR player. Unlike Cruz and Sellers and Uribe, his defense can be atrocious. Thus, if he hits like they do — and he certainly did last year — it’s two negatives instead of just one.

—–

Hitting

He’s hit .316/.409/.421/.830 thus far, yes, but it comes with a .429 BABIP, which is high even for somebody of his speed. The promising part though is his new patience, but the trade-off appears to be more strikeouts, which happen far too often for the slap-and-run type of hitter he is.

Undoubtedly, this aspect of his game has been his strength so far, but whether it continues over a significant sample or not has always been the issue.

Fielding

He’s shown range and the ability to get to balls that not many can (GIF #1), but he’s also shown the tendency to make careless errors and have a lack of fundamental skills (GIF #2/#3/#4).

On only one of the three misplays featured here was he marked with an error, but it’s still poor defense … and it’s only half of the misplays I found.

Baserunning

Electric, right? Look at how he takes all those extra bases and does the little things right and … oh he just ran into three outs in a game? Drat.

—–

Flaws and all, fans understandably tend to side with Dee because of the “wow” moments he brings to the table, stuff that guys with less raw talent simply can’t even fathom doing. Dee is made for mind-blowing bursts of speed and flair that lead to extreme excitement, but he often follows that with lulls of fundamental inadequacy and lack of baseball skills, which is the part people tend to gloss over too easily.

My point? For all the highs and lows so far, his WAR on the year is 0. There’s probably not much more fitting a grade than that.

People fall in love with the explosiveness but tend forget that baseball, for better or worse, is more about the routine and the boring.

For example, Matt Kemp‘s debut was full of flash and flair as well. He bombed seven homers in his first 50 plate appearances, but then got exposed down the stretch due to his lack of refinement. From there, it was the boring things — laying off/hitting hanging breaking balls, working the count, going to right field — that led him to become an MVP-caliber player, not mindlessly hacking and trying to club bombs.

Dee will never get to that level, granted, but at some point I would like to see a hint of progress in the refinement area of his game. Kemp showed that slowly but surely, much like all prospects that pan out do, but the concern is that Dee has been rather stagnant for a while now.

——

Perhaps predictably, articles are being written about how Dee gives this team a “shot in the arm” or a “much needed boost of energy”, but the reality is that’s not the player the Dodgers need him to be. He’s ALWAYS been the “energy guy”, the “tools guy”, the “flash guy”, even last year. What the Dodgers need from him more than anything right now is something he’s never been able to accomplish: stability.

The day he gives the team daily consistency over flashy highlights is the day that I’ll buy in, and I think most others will as well. Until then, though, the Dee Gordon experience will likely continue to be a roller-coaster of alternating cheers and facepalms.

Matt Magill, who was rocked in his his last start against the rival Giants, will still be in the rotation come his next turn:

Rookie pitcher Matt Magill, who lasted only 1 1/3 innings in Saturday night’s start, will remain in the rotation for at least one more start Friday night, manager Don Mattingly said Sunday.

The Dodgers could have skipped Magill because of a day off Thursday, but Mattingly said he still had confidence in Magill, who allowed five runs on six hits and four walks to the Giants after allowing only two runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Brewers in his Major League debut last Sunday.

“He’s an easy guy to trust,” said Mattingly. “A kid like him stays calm, he keeps working. He had the same demeanor that he had after his last time out. You get a good feeling with him.”

Confidence is one thing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to rely on a rookie to get a quality start when it’s not even necessary.

Kershaw was placed on the bereavement list on Monday after his father passed away, to make room for the activation of shortstop Hanley Ramirez from the disabled list. Kershaw last pitched Sunday and is starting Friday night on regular rest. He missed the minimum three games required of placement on the bereavement list.

Somehow he managed to pitch well in his return, but the Dodgers obviously lost on a walk-off.

—–

Hanley Ramirez is injured yet again, suffering a hamstring injury Friday and hitting the DL Saturday, which led to the return of Dee Gordon.

The Dodgers on Saturday decided the hamstring injury suffered by Hanley Ramirez was enough to send him to the disabled list. The Dodgers recalled shortstop Dee Gordon from Triple-A Albuquerque before Saturday’s game, as first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Bob Nightengale reported the Dodgers plan to play Gordon exclusively at shortstop in place of Ramirez.

In 2013, Gordon has hit .314/.397/.431 for Triple-A Albuquerque, with 19 runs scored in 25 games, and has stolen 14 bases in 16 attempts.

Seems fitting considering the way 2013 has begun. A team already struggling to score runs just got worse.

Gordon has shown improved plate discipline in AAA, but the real test will be his defense.

]]>http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/05/mm-magill-gets-chance-to-atone-for-his-disaster-gordon-gets-another-shot-kershaw-back/feed/0What is it about Yasiel Puig that makes people so incredibly stupid?http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/04/what-is-it-about-yasiel-puig-that-makes-people-so-incredibly-stupid/
http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2013/04/what-is-it-about-yasiel-puig-that-makes-people-so-incredibly-stupid/#commentsTue, 09 Apr 2013 21:23:01 +0000http://www.chadmoriyama.com/?p=14910

“Can he play positions in the major leagues that he’s never played before and never trained for?!”

I mean … what?

Hanley Ramirez is athletic and talented and has played shortstop in the MLB and MILB forever … and he’s still widely known by most everybody as a horrid defender. Fans can’t stand to watch his slow turns at second base or Dee Gordon throwing the ball away, but Puig? Well shit, he could do it, right? WHY NOT?! How hard could shortstop or third base be?

Ugh.

I would legitimately sooner try Adrian Gonzalez at third. It’s far less dumb.

—–

But those are just four examples and it doesn’t mean anything, right? Yeah, I wish. Feel free to Twitter search for him or just read the replies to mainstream writers whenever his name is brought up. You’ll be amazed by how insane some of the stuff is.

Look, all prospects have promise, and, more than most, I get the excitement. But the Dodgers have had guys who jumped levels and showed flashes of an elite future before, most recently Rubby De La Rosa, but they have never generated anywhere near this type of excitement/delusion.

So while Puig will likely produce in the majors, and he has star upside, what is it exactly about him that makes people lose their goddamn minds? Seriously though, as a meme, it’s entertaining, but people are getting serious about it and I have to implore you to please stop before anything short of a stellar MLB debut/Hall Of Fame career leads to people incessantly booing him … as if he was Kemp after an 0-4 outing in 2013 even after back-to-back .900+ OPS seasons.

The “Yasiel Puig Should Start & Bat Cleanup Movement” took a major but obvious and expected blow Tuesday, as the young Cuban outfielder was optioned to AA Chattanooga.

“I told him he had a great camp. It’s an organizational decision of what we think is best for him, now and in the long term,” said manager Don Mattingly. “We think this guy has a chance to be a really good player. He’s done nothing wrong in our camp, but he can just keep improving.”

Puig is raw and was never going to start the year in The Show unless other viable outfield candidates got hurt and ownership couldn’t throw money around to acquire someone else.

Besides, there’s no reason the Dodgers should rush a guy who’s got limited pro experience with none of that above high-A ball.

“He didn’t seem that happy about it. You don’t really want guys to be happy that they’re being sent out,” Mattingly said. “When we came into camp, this guy wasn’t even on the radar (for this season). He’s had a great camp…. Obviously he’s put himself on the map as far as probably knocking on the door instead of being a couple of years away.”

Puig wasn’t happy, as you would expect.

I’ve said it before, but I’d be surprised if he saw any action this year in the bigs, barring injury.

Kyle Russell established University of Texas records for both single-season (28) and career (57) home runs, and the ’07 third-rounder ought to have no trouble latching on with another club if he’s healthy. Despite striking out nearly a third of the time at the Double-A level, Russell hit 40 homers in 270 games, posting an isolated slugging percentage of .229.

Dashenko Ricardo caught eight games for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, going 5-for-22 (.227) at the plate and helping the pitching staff navigate its way to the semifinal round. He threw out 37 percent of basestealers last season in the short-season Northwest League with an arm so strong that the Giants attempted to convert him to pitcher in ’11 after taking him in the minor league Rule 5 draft.

The Dodgers will be without Hanley Ramirez for roughly eight weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. But thanks to a new provision this year, the World Baseball Classic – not the Dodgers – could be on the hook for the nearly $4 million Ramirez is set to earn while on the shelf, per reports by Buster Olney of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Ramirez is due $15.5 million in 2013, and missing exactly eight weeks after surgery gives him a return date of May 16. Since the 183-day championship season begins on March 31, Ramirez would be on the disabled list in this scenario for 46 days. That means the WBC would be responsible for approximately $3,896,175 of Ramirez’s salary.

Greinke threw 43 pitches in four scoreless innings, and Mattingly got good reports. He said Greinke was able to use all of his pitches and was sitting around 91-93 mph.

Greinke will next start Monday, and though there is a possibility that the Dodgers may have him throw in a minor league game in order to have the option to back date him on the disabled list, Mattingly hinted that might not be needed.

“We’ll keep playing all the scenarios as we go. The health theory is that we’d like to see him on the front fields. I think he wants to be on the front fields, too,” Mattingly said. “At this point if something flares up it’s probably more than a start anyway, so the DL is not going to matter.”

So he’s either going to be ready for the season from the start or head to the DL and miss multiple starts, depending on how the rest of Spring Training goes for him.

The Dodgers will need Greinke at 100% for as much of the season as possible, so caution would be the way to go here.